Clothespin



Feb. 27, 1951 n H. RATCHFORD CLOTHESPIN Filed July '7, 1948 INVEN TOR HARRY L RATFHFURD ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 27, 1951 y uNi fr-isis:D3-fj ormoni This@ inventionrelates"to: improvementsin-j in'\'the-transactionofremoving-thevpin from-its clothespins; holdingl engagements' Objections 4tor-a vrpir1"'of th'e" bifurcated Figure' isa side-vienr indicating the appear-was hitherto devised-Tarte;` that-fin' "the .eiif'rt-fr tow" ance of the pin in operativeposition` holdingthe'v makethe" pin sufciently secure: in'holding posi= 5 y fabric;- asrona rope'lineora metal line of a larger tion; the Wedging. of sameV aganstihe fabricthatif diameter.

is .supported byithe clothesline, involves liability'j My newclo'ths" pin` is made of-pla'stic v'havingl -p of injuryto the` fabric, and of impairin'ent;;of"..the` tlie-"pr0perties especiallyIdesirablei The said pini AMoreover the ,saidf pinbeing'noteffeztivelygj lolasticj'as"polystyrenev and whichv lendelitself to resistant against tendencypto be`c0n1e.lo`osened` 10 thermo-setting'isinjectedintornolds madeffrom w due to stresses to'whichfth fabricis subjected, a 'gated/pattern especially-designed lthereforfforw as by 'abuserandvorby'the wrenching forces of. economicalquantity production-- The said r'nold`s f Wind' .and storm; there; is againthe"liability'pf" and the" meansfor-filliiig same are onerablebv Inarringthe. fabric `and ofeven"theldislodgementi knoWnrprocedures-'in theinolding art; and the of the pin andalso the" fabric; frm'the line; 15 a1ticle=\.vhenY takenffromthe' mold is complete in Y' Myjinvention is based upon the conceptof pro: form; structureand-nis-h. v- It is dense of strucviding LaY resilient pin..withth arms.. thereof s'o ure; desirably resilient', light in'l'weight and of* formed with relation xtoieaclo .,otlir and Ato the i attractivefappearance1-in-color and--nish-," and body of .the pin and to ,the line to bei'engaged, that. is .possessedorampleltensile 1rstrength 'for its :in- Whereas` .thepinl is capablaofbe'ing ,easilyapf 20 tendedlpurpose; f- It"is"resistantto extremes of plied in. its holding position and Without over'-v seasonal temperatures, is not adversely affected strainon any part thereof, its clamping power is by nmoisturefand does-v not-'#tend-tof accumulate so. utilizedv that while the piniis fcapablelof .rnain-L. ditparticles norv to' abrade Ethe -Afabric 5-vvi'tb which ff tainingy dependably. a .tenacious .,hld upon the itiisdir-fcontactriti doesnot becomecorrodedfL fabricivithout injuryLto same, it Wilfried/1ebecome .25 roughened ori-pittedfand'the'pins in mass'donot fastened ...against .i any. tendencytoLWorkilloose. i becomeV `in'terc'onnected for tangled.- frornits holding position, and-.at thelsametiine itl', In the-pin- `'heree'presented?same being a repis veasily removable. loy'ithenser, and .without "liaii lioaofthe pattern'fromi'which'-it is formedin the" bility.. of.. injury. tov the .fabric .onto the pini... mold; the bdyis rectangular incross-sectionendY To. providea pin.. affording the.aboVe-named"..30 is formed with spaced'substantially'longitudinaladvantages, and to .so embody.v the invention that. i. cleftsiifand lZivvhichare'-directedinwardlyfrom the -pinis of` minimumiweight.anddirnension is the oppositeen'ds'of saidbody-.f Tli'emedian body durable anddependable and..e asy..tolnianipnlate; portionsthusformedA 'designate-as central armeancl at the lsame time is'.capablellobeng.,rnanue.. MT Thev 'end' l"portions of' Saidcentralarm and v factoredeconornicallyi andavilllenditself'to conn 35 which' are oronndedformationare"designatedi veniencein..allthephases.of.merchandising. and.; asheadsfliiA andrl. Tlieperiplreralface 'I8 handlingof same, aretheobjects,v broadlystated@ each ofjs'aidfheadsisiof 'roundedforination o1". my invention.. is 'providedat'itsinner portioniiiwith; an arcuate The saidobjects, `as well as. more Speciii'c'aims. notc'hitheoutboardi'portionof-'said notch flow-f which.,will 'presentlylrbe apparent, are accom` 40 ing 'curvateiy intofthei-portion *ofi-the *saidlf plished fby and my invention is 'contained ini-,the peripheral', fa'ce;' the "inboard portions of' said'v new. construction, combination andlarrangement. .L notclrfl 9"andone"side' offtliecleft*ifiintersecting-1- of parts .described inithe" follo/ving .specification i. at" the line JIT. Tlieaemaining portions of' the` and illustrated inthev accompanying drawingstii; said 'body-form"longitudinal s'ide'arrnsl 2! 'and-2 l; En; the drawings- 45 the terminal portionis.22and"ZZ'thereo extends- Figurel isa sideivievv of my. new clothespin. ingA .beyondA 'the' transverse'planaofrtlne"ends-'oiA 1 FigureZ ris .a longitudinal..s1ectional view telden.. the;acljaerrt headsl. on broken line,2;2111.theidiiecton of arrovtA 2 in; The inner. face 23""of-tl1e terminal'portionof' Fieiire. .1.1 eacnof, saidsidearms is .tapered at an angle, ine" Figure 3 is a side view indici'atirigthe' annearf' 50 @lined toward; the'adjacenthead LJa-nd it termia ance of. the .pin in position.. hold'n'g-th fabric;A asl natesat an oiset having a radius eqnalto'the 1 on a conventional metalllin'e, .the fabric Land the radius ofA curvatureyoi said notch "it, said oiiset said.line.being.. shown in; cross section. being :located inidiametric alignment with: 'said'.4-

Figure e Vis .an elevational View .taken in: the." notch'fl9-l direction .of arrow i nFigure 3,the `fabricJoeiirg .56 Eachofpthe sadclefts I2iis of suchlengtntn'at" shown fragmentarilygand thebrokn lnesin'dif thehead ends jloftlie, .central arm. lfasxwelljas 'Y eating .the .position ,to lwhichjthe ,pinlis transposed'. l'. thelsaid,centralarm. are. of' ample i cross. section area to afford suitably substantial strength in these portions, the cross section area of each of the side arms being slightly less than the cross section area of the central arm. Recesses 26 and 25 formed in the opposite sides of the said heads I6 and I6 afford convenience in the applying by the user of a finger or lingers to the pin in the transaction of inclining the pin in the direction of the clothesline (see broken lines in Figure 4) and in the removing of the pin from the line. By the structure thus described it will be seen that the confronting notch faces i9 and offset faces 25 are in spaced parallel relation, and that the peripheral faces i8 of the heads i6, and the tapered faces 23 and 23 of the said side arms are in confronting relation.

My new pin, in the example shown, is about two and one half inches in length, and is suitable for use in connection with a conventional wire line or a conventional rope line, as indicated in Figures l and 5 respectively.

Procedure in using the invention consists simply in placingr the fabric, as of an article of wearing apparel or the like on the line, then applying the pin to place, the line becoming engaged in the crotch formed by the face 23 of the side arm and the peripheral face I8 of the head of the pin. Then as the pin is pressed against the fabric and the line, strain is imposed on the engaged arm, the effect on the pin is, that in a yield of the central arm in the portion thereof near the notch I9, the strain so imposed as aforesaid on the engaged arm is effectively distributed through the engaged arm and the central arm,

and the reaction of said central arm and said engaged arm maintains a firm and tenacious engagement by the said arm against the fabric and line.

The pin now held, as it is, by the inboard corner l1 of the notch i9, against further urge toward the line, entry of the line into the cleft is avoided and overstrain of the pin is prevented. lIhe pin being now secured as against any stress imposed upon the fabric tending to affect its position on the line, the clasping action of the arm is so utilized that liability of excessive gripping action of the pin is eliminated.

The clasp action of the pin being coextensive with approximately one half of the circumference of the line at the head side of the pin, and approximately one fourth of the circumference of the line at the arm side of said pin, the fabric is held effectively against any tendency to shift either longitudinally or transversely. Whereas the pin is held as against force tending to pull or swerve the fabric in any direction, it lends itself to being easily removed by the user. move the pin from the installed position just described, the user simply applies a iinger or fingers at the head of the pin and swings it to one side or the other of the perpendicular (see Figure 4) and downwardly in the direction of the clothes line the offset 25 of the arm 2| and the notch i9 of the central arm riding smoothly the fabric and sliding free from the fabric and from the line.

A clothes pin according to my invention while relatively small in size is of strength to withstand effectively all strains imposed upon it as such, and it is operable regardless of which end thereof is applied to the line. When the pin is used in connection with a line of unusually larger diameter, the changed flexure of the central arm, and the changed flexure of the engaged arm appear as indicated in Figure 5, and additional strain is imposed against the engaged arm, the yield in the central arm in the portion thereof near the notch i9 is increased, and the said central arm in the deflection thereof, comes to position with its head portion engaged with the face 23 of the outboard end of the free arm.

In the functioning just described, the central arm will have sprung at its portion in proximity with the notch that engages the line and it will have been iiexed toward and impinged at its head against the face 23 of the free end of the adjacent side arm; and the engaged arm will have sprung at its portion near the other head of said central arm and will have become iiexed outwardly. In this status the free arm acts in combination with the iiexed central arm and the flexed engaged arm, as a cantilever, and, in the consequent mutual reaction of the several parts, the pin is enabled to effectively withstand the strain imposed upon it and to maintain a rm and secure clasping hold on the fabric and line.

It will be understood that the invention as embodied in the form and construction herein described and illustrated, is subject to minor modifications without departure from the spirit or principle of the invention, and that same is to be construed as of the scope defined in the claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A clothespin consisting of a resilient elongated body rectangular in cross section and with spaced substantially longitudinal parallel clefts directed inwardly from opposite ends of said body, the median portion of said body forming a central arm embodying opposed heads, the peripheral faces of each being of rounded formation and each face provided at its inner portion with an arcuate notch, the outboard end thereof rounded, the remaining portions of saidbody forming longitudinal side arms, each being of less area in cross section than the area in cross section of the central arm, the terminals thereof extending beyond the heads of said central arm and each To rebeing provided at its inner face with an arcuate oiiset of length shorter than that of the notch of the adjacent head of said central arm, the said offset being of curvature struck with a radius equal to the radius with which the curvature of said notch is struck, and said offset being in diametric alignment with said notch.

2. A clothespin of the kind described consisting of an elongated resilient rectilinear body with spaced substantially longitudinal parallel clefts directed inwardly from opposite ends of said body, the median portion of said body forming an intermediate arm embodying opposed heads with peripheral faces of rounded contour, each of said faces at its inner portion having an arcuate notch, the outboard end of said notch being rounded, the remaining portions of said body forming tapered longitudinal side arms, the terminal portions thereof being tapered and extending beyond the heads of said intermediate arm, and each provided at its inner face with an ofiset shorterthan the notch of the adjacent hea-d of said intermediate arm, but struck with a radius of length the same as that with which the said notch is struck, said offset being in diametrio alignment with said notch.

Y3. A clothes pin consisting of an elongated body made of thermo-setting plastic, said body having spaced substantially longitudinal parallel clefts directed inwardly from opposite ends of said body, the median portion of said body forming an intermediate arm `substantially square in cross section and embodying opposed heads with peripheral faces of rounded contour, each of said faces at its inner portion having an arcuate notch the outboard end of said notch being rounded, the remaining portions or" said body forming tapered longitudinal side arzns rectangular in cross section area less than the cross section area of said intermediate arm, and each provid ed at its inner face with an arcuate offset whose arc is shorter than the arc of the notch of the adjacent head of said intermediate arm, but struck with a radius the same as that of the aro of said notch, said offset being in diametric alignment with said notch.

' 4. A device of the kind described, consisting of an elongated body of thermo-setting plastic, said body having spaced substantially longitudinal parallel clefts directed inwardly from opposite ends of said body, the median portion of said body forming a central arm substantially square in cross section and embodying opposed heads with peripheral faces of rounded contour, each of said faces at its inner portion having a curvate notch, the outboard end of said notch being rounded, the remaining portion of said body forming longitudinal side arms each being of less area in cross section than the area in cross section of said central arm, the terminal 6 portions of said side arms extending beyond the heads of said central'arm and each being provided at its inner face with a curvate offset which is in diametric alignment with the notch of the adjacent head of said central arm, the said curvate oiTset having an arc which is shorter than that of the notch of said adjacent head, and having the same radius as that of said notch.

HARRY L. RATCHFORD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the lile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

